After three years of bringing the mostly underground art of tattooing to the mainstream media through their show, Miami Ink, Ami James, Chris Nunez and the rest of the gang at Miami Ink are parting ways with their TLC counterparts.

Reportedly, James and Nunez declined to extend the show's contract with Discovery Communications and will not record anymore shows. “It’s done. It’s over,” James told a Miami Herald reporter earlier this week, as he commented on the show’s future. TLC reportedly had no comment on the matter.

Apparently, the show has consistently dropped in ratings throughout the years despite its tremendous popularity when the show first aired. Surely, a testament to Miami Ink’s popularity is all the rival shows which it spawned including L.A. Ink, London Ink and Rio Ink. In fact, L.A. Ink would eventually go on to surpass Miami Ink in the ratings and become TLC’s highest rated reality show.

Several unanswered questions still revolve around Miami Ink’s future. After all, Miami Ink wasn’t just a TLC reality show, it was, and for now still is a physical structure on South Beach’s famous Washington Avenue.
However, there is no inking going on at the now popular tourist spot where the three seasons were filmed. In fact, the stars of Miami Ink were rarely at the location when filming wasn’t going on and now the tattoo shop has been turned into a store selling Miami Ink merchandise. And even though the name “Miami Ink” itself may be taken from Ami and the gang (the name itself is owned by Discovery Communications), for now, they are holding on to the location, the name and its popularity.

This isn’t to say that Ami and Chris have stopped tattooing. Actually they’re reportedly tattooing more than before since they would rarely tattoo when they weren’t filming. If you go to the Miami Ink location today, a sign will direct you further down the street to Love Hate Tattoos, Ami and Chris’s latest venture. The Love Hate tattoo parlor and bar were allegedly one of the main reasons for the shows downfall as the network wasn’t particularly happy with featuring the side businesses on the show.

You can still check out the Miami Ink location on 1370 Washington Avenue. You can also check out Love Hate Tattoos at 423 Washington Avenue and at their website www.lovehatemiami.com    

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